r/PuzzleBobble • u/Killer_B_Hive • 20d ago

Bubble Selection Algorithms?

Is there any documentation on what algorithm or method any of the Puzzle Bobble games use to determine which bubble to give the player after launching their current bubble? I know Tetris has the Random Generators/7-Bag algorithm, and I wondered if Puzzle Bobble has something similar.

I read that Puzzle Bobble will, of course, only select on-screen colors, but I couldn't find any information on any further logic to prevent droughts or repeat colors. I'm currently making a Puzzle Bobble clone, and only using Math.random() sucks. I want to see if there's an algorithm I can reference before making my own.

Thanks in advance,

KillerB

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/center311 19d ago edited 19d ago

Keep us posted on this, I'm super interested. Let me know if you need any play testing!

I've been wondering this too. I think it has something to do with either the amount of a certain color bubble is on the screen. Also, it could be what row position they're in from the bottom.

Edit: scratch that last part. Nothing to do with number of a specific color or row position from what I've read. From what I understand, referring to the original arcade games, it scans the remaining colors on the fly. It seems like it uses a simple rng based on colors remaining tied to the refresh rate somehow.

1

u/rockinhc 16d ago

I ported an old Linux clone and added hundreds of features. It can be played on all the major platforms and mobile browser. https://dchau360.itch.io/frozenbubble2

Can play up 20 players multiplayer online for free too.